Y’all! It’s almost time to deliver your Operation Christmas Child (OCC) shoeboxes to your closest drop-off location. Collection week is November 13th-20th.
There would be no OCC without people like you, who are willing to invest in children. This may be the only time in their young lives to experience the blessing of such a special gift. This may also be the first time they hear the good news of Jesus.
Imagine. A young boy prays for someone to give him tools, and then shoeboxes arrive, and his shoebox has tools! These things happen all the time with OCC. God answers prayers. And He wants to use you as His messenger.
As you shop, as you pack, pray. Pray for the child receiving your gift. Pray the Lord will use it in the exact way that’s needed. And know that, according to 1 John 5:14, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.” I find that very exciting!
Last week, Anna and Mary set up a shoebox assembly line. After many months of purchasing items, preparing them, and all that goes into it, the time had arrived to compile.
It was quite an awesome machine going on! Abby, Betsy, and Tina packed, while Mary did the final check-through and labeling, and Anna oversaw it all. Family dropped in to see the progress, and even Drew and Melanie packed. Christopher’s family was on a trip, but their littles will help with the final boxes soon.
Your enthusiasm and personal stories on our last blog post for OCC was simply contagious. For those who haven’t packed a shoebox or are procrastinating, please jump in. It’s not too late. And you will impact someone’s life in another country.
Love,
Sarah
“A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the
widows, is God in his holy habitation.”
Psalm 68:5
As they raise money for the shoebox supplies, do they raise money for shipping as well? We have done OCC as a family for years with my children raising the bulk of the money. This year we were surprised with the increase in shipping. My children don’t have enough to cover the boxes they want to do. They are still looking for ways to earn money and in the end we will help make up the difference.
I was just wondering if you all knew about the increase ahead of time so you could plan!
Looks like a fun time. We are packing ours this weekend. My children are so excited!
Cathy
So glad y’all are doing it! Yep, we knew about the price increase.
Wow! You guys did an amazing job packing so many shoeboxes.
It is also nice to see the creative ways in which we can include more things in them, packing in a smart way.
Just a small note on the side: for people who wish to support OCC in Europe, but whose countries do not have drop off points, you can still visit the OCC’s website and make a donation and they will pack up a box for you!
God bless,
Alice
Good suggestions, Alice, as we have many European readers. Thank you!
this year i am sending out maybe 3 boxes. i was busy the past few years.
So awesome, Annie! I’m super thrilled about that!
Thank you for sharing about OCC, this is our first year participating. My boys loved picking out items and packing their boxes. We plan on adding tracking labels to them, so we can see where in the world they end up. Hoping they’ll bless some children in need. What a great organization!
That makes me so happy! Love it! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Awww! I want to do OCC this week too!
Hope it works out for you to!
That looks fun! How many boxes do you usually do? Do you go concentrate on one specific age group? I also wondered if you had considered doing this with your church members. We had some older people at our church who didn’t get out to shop, but they loved being part of the packing day! Or even opening up your home for a community event!
Great idea, Toni, on the older people! They are aiming for 100 boxes. I think they were especially doing 2-4 year old girls and boys.
Thanks for sharing! So, what was your total number of boxes?
Should be 100.
WOW! That’s alot of stuff! So fun! Love how Tina is explaining to Jesse! : )
We have our shopping done and will be packing soon!
Johnna
Tina is such a sweet girl. So funny! Please send me a picture or two of you and Stormie packing. That’d be so great!
That looks fun we did one box
That’s great, Anna!
Unfortunately, we’re unable to participate this year but would like to plan ahead for next year. Where do you get the OCC boxes to pack the items in? Could you share sometime how you pack to maximize space? I looked back at old posts but didn’t find anything. Thanks.
You can order the boxes from OCC. Here’s the link. Sure, I’ll add that to our list of blog post ideas.
Do you know if little sewing kits with needles and little sewing scissor are allowed in shoe boxes? My friends and I are packing some shoe boxes and we are doing one for a 10-14 year old girl and I didn’t know if they were allowed or not since they are sharp, so I figured I would ask you since you do a lot with shoe boxes.
Yes, the sewing kits are great! That’s awesome you’re doing some with your friends.
Okay. Thank you.
I love this! What a great way to bring joy to a child! Is your family volunteering at a packing location again this year?
We would love to, but the details haven’t worked out!
I’m hoping to do 4-6 boxes this year. Last year we did 6, but the shipping cost went up. We’ve found a bunch of things around our house to donate, and I think we’re going shopping for more on Wednesday. 100 boxes! Bravo y’all! 🙂
I’m so happy you get to do boxes, Alanna! Yay!
Today I finished with our boxes. I wrapped each box with wrapping paper. We were able to do seven boxes. My siblings and I also made cards for each child. OCC is so much fun!
Yay, good job!!!